Randburg FC U19 came from behind to record three wins in row

Randburg FC coach said they didn’t have a full squad as they are missing players due to injuries and others in matric, they had only one attacking player on their bench

Randburg FC player Olwethu Khumalo and Ntsko Khoza at the Randburg Sports Club. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni

Randburg Football Club (RFC) U19 secured a hard-fought victory against Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School making it their third win in a row in a Gauteng Development League (GDL).

The three-goal encounter saw home fans at the edge of their seats as the visitors wouldn’t give the home team a space to breathe at the Randburg Sports Complex.

Rosina goalkeeper Neo Baloyi makes a big clearance save. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni

Rosina started like a house on fire and Keletso Tseka scored an early goal to make it 1–0 and pushed the home team on the back foot.

RFC forward Olwethu Khumalo hit back shortly with an equaliser (1–1) and kept his team in the game.

It was a sloppy first half overall for the home side. They struggled to jell as a team, keep possession and play on their strength, while the visitors dominated and looked more threatening going forward.

RFC coach Paul Habib acknowledged that it was not their best game, but he commended the fight and character his boys showed to get maximum points.

Randburg FC striker Daniel Biaya tries to get away from defender Delroy Burandi. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni

“Rosina is no Mickey Mouse team – last season the players scored in the last minutes to draw with us. We knew what they’ll bring. I feel like the boys looked tired. They had a tough week at training. I don’t think we peaked at the right times in this match.”

Things got tougher for the home side as they lost their midfield maestro Gabriel Leeb due to hamstring injury 25 minutes into the first half. Super-sub Daniel Biaya replaced Leeb and quickly made impact. He put his name on the score sheet with his first touch in the game and gave RCF a 2–1 lead.

Rosina defender Reabetswe Namane urges his team forward. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni

Rosina kept knocking, playing long diagonal balls to the wings, but failed to unlock a solid Randburg defence.

“Congratulations to Randburg FC. They took their chances. We had to work double to try come back but it was not easy. We didn’t execute our game plan, we wanted to take them wide on the wings and punish them but we could not penetrate their defence,” said Rosina coach Kameni Simon.

Randburg FC player Olwethu Khumalo and Ntsko Khoza at the Randburg Sports Club. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni

Rosina made changes in the second half to inject speed and raise the tempo of the game while RFC put on a great defensive shift to seal all the three points.

RFC defender Madima Rangani said, “Coach told us to be defend; he knows our defence is strong and if they can’t score, we win.”